Sven-V. Rehm

Information Systems · Management · Systems Sciences

#Inference matters.

I am a scholar working at the intersection of information systems, management, and the systems sciences. My research examines how intelligence, communi-cation, and organization emerge and evolve in complex socio-technical systems.

Over more than two decades, I have studied how digital technologies transform collective action, organizational structures, and the ways people coordinate knowledge and decisions. My current work connects Collective and Hybrid Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, socio-technical design, and the dynamics of communication in organizations and society.

Drawing on cybernetics and systems thinking, I am particularly interested in how human and artificial agents construct meaning, develop shared understanding, and shape collective decisions — and what these processes imply for the design and governance of increasingly intelligent systems.

RESEARCH

Intelligence, Organization & Society

Collective & Hybrid Intelligence

How do groups, organizations, and networks develop shared understanding and coordinated action? This research examines collective intelligence as an emergent phenomenon, with particular attention to communication, inference, distributed cognition, and the interaction of human and artificial agents in hybrid systems.

Artificial Intelligence & Socio-Technical Design

How does AI transform human judgment, organizational practices, and the design of intelligent systems? This research explores the mutual shaping of technologies, human agency, organizational structures, and institutional arrangements, including implications for decision-making, accountability, and governance.

Digital Infrastructures & Organizing

How do digital platforms and infrastructures enable new forms of coordination, innovation, and organization? Building on longstanding research into information systems, collaborative networks, and digital ecosystems, this domain examines how digital infrastructures both enable and constrain organizational transformation and collective action.

Societal Communication & Governance

How do AI-mediated communication and increasingly interconnected human–AI systems reshape public discourse, collective sensemaking, and societal decision-making? This emerging research agenda investigates the dynamics of communication, norm formation, and governance in societies shaped by artificial intelligence.

SELECTED RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS

From Networked Innovation to Collective Inferencing

Collective Inferencing: From Tacit Knowledge to Dynamic Strategy

AI-supported analysis · Cybernetics · Adaptive Strategy

This work introduces Collective Inferencing as an approach to reconstructing and modelling complex organizational dynamics from distributed, often tacit knowledge. Combining cybernetic reasoning with AI-supported analysis, it explores how collective knowledge can be transformed into dynamic models and adaptive strategies for decision-making and governance.

Selected publication:
Rehm, S.-V. (2025). Turning Tacit Knowledge into Dynamic Strategies Through Collective Inferencing. MIS Quarterly Executive, 24(4), 375–382. Read article

Innovation Networks: IS-Embedded Network Resources

Network Resources · Information Systems · Collective Innovation

Based on empirical research in three innovation networks within the European SmartNets project, this work investigates how information systems enable collaboration and the creation of resources beyond individual organizational boundaries. It introduced the concept of IS-embedded network resources, contributing to the understanding of networking capabilities, collective innovation, and digitally enabled forms of organizing.

Selected publications:
Rehm, S.-V., Goel, L., & Junglas, I. (2017). Using Information Systems in Innovation Networks: Uncovering Network Resources. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 18(8), 577–604. Read article

Rehm, S.-V., Goel, L., & Junglas, I. (2015). Role of Information Systems in Empowering Innovation Networks. MIS Quarterly Executive, 14(3), 87–103. Read article

Nominated for the AIS Senior Scholars' Best Paper in IS Award.

Business Ecosystems: Collaborative Modelling and Governance

Collaborative Modelling · Visualization · Governance

Developed in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich, this research programme investigated how complex business ecosystems can be collaboratively modelled, visualized, and governed. Combining Action Design Research with the development of visual analytical systems, it contributed methods and design principles for collective sensemaking and decision-making in evolving digital ecosystems, including smart city mobility.

Selected publication:
Faber, A., Hernandez-Mendez, A., Rehm, S.-V., & Matthes, F. (2020). Collaborative Modelling and Visualization of Business Ecosystems: Insights from Two Action Design Research Case Studies. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 24. Read article

Research recognized through Best Paper distinctions, including ICEIS 2018.

ACADEMIC PROFILE & SCHOLARLY ENGAGEMENT

Scholarship, Teaching & Academic Leadership

Academic Appointments & Teaching

My academic background combines engineering cybernetics, information systems, and management. I hold a doctorate in engineering from the University of Stuttgart and a habilitation in Business Administration from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.

My academic career has included appointments and teaching at WHU, EM Strasbourg Business School, the University of Stuttgart, and the Technical University of Munich, covering information systems, digital transformation, innovation management, and systems thinking.

Editorial Leadership & Scholarly Service

I am Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Collective Intelligence Perspectives, a transdisciplinary open-access journal, and serve on the Editorial Board of MIS Quarterly Executive. I also co-edit the Springer Nature Handbook of Hybrid Intelligence.

Through editorial responsibilities, peer reviewing, and academic collaboration, I contribute to scholarly exchange across disciplinary boundaries.

Research Leadership & Scholarly Communities

I have initiated and led numerous interdisciplinary, externally funded research projects involving universities, industry, and public institutions across Europe.

I am Founding Director of the CAIR Institute and Executive Chairman of the Society for Managerial and Social Cybernetics (GWS e.V.), supporting interdisciplinary research, scholarly exchange, and the advancement of cybernetic and systems-oriented perspectives.

NOTES & ACTIVITIES

Recent Scholarly Developments